South-Central Region
Regional director: Claudia Champagne,
Our Lady of Holy Cross College, CChampagne@olhcc.edu
2009 Regional Conference
Human Experience as the Mask of God:
The Hero's Journey as the Quest for the Sacred in Literature and the Arts
May 22-23, 2009
New Orleans, Louisiana
About 22 members attended this conference, sponsored by Xavier University of Louisiana at the Hampton Inn Garden District. The theme of the conference attracted a number of graduate students who engaged in discussions with their peers and scholars in attendance, thus, creating an atmosphere conducive to helpful suggestions and encouraging comments. Because we scheduled only one meeting for each session, the audience for every paper was larger than usual; thus, enriching and extending the discussions.
The high point of our conference was the key note speaker from Xavier University of Louisiana. Dr. Robin Vander's presentation was titled "Reflections of the Divine in African American Woman's Writing." The audience was impressed by Robin's insights and expressed their gratitude. Overall the 2009 SCCCL held in New Orleans was very successful. Thanks to all who participated.
Donna Marie Gould
SCCCL Regional Coordinator
2008 Regional Conference
More than 35 people attended the regional conference Feb. 21-23 at LeTourneau University in Longview, Texas. Ralph Wood of Baylor University was the keynote speaker for the meeting, which was focused on the theme, "In Search of the Peaceable Kingdom: Studies in the Literature of Conflict, Struggle, and Hope."
2007 Regional Symposium
Crossing Traditions: Faith and Religion in Literature nd the Arts
Fourteen participants attended the symposium in Taos, New Mexico, at the Mabel Dodge Luhan House. The nature of a symposium, composed of fewer participants, enabled enthusiastic discussions not only after the presentations but also in the leisure of the evenings. The theme of the symposium “Crossing Traditions” attracted diversity in the participants including Christians and non-Christians which enriched sharing. Overall the meeting was very successful. All the participants voiced their appreciation for the symposium.
Donna Marie Gould
2006 Regional Conference
The South-Central Conference on Christianity and Literature, sponsored by Xavier University of Louisiana, met April 1, 2006, at the Garden District Hotel on historic St. Charles Avenue in New Orleans. Fortunately, the site was part of the 20 percent of New Orleans that was not flooded when the levees broke under pressure of the surge from Hurricane Katrina.
The SCCCL regional meeting originally had been scheduled for Memphis, but Christian Brothers University was forced to cancel due to ill health of the sponsoring faculty member. Xavier University assumed sponsorship even though the University was seriously damaged in the flooding and had only opened its doors in January after being closed since August 26, 2005. The original theme, "Theology and the Poetic Imagination," was revised to include a wider range of papers, but nearly all papers touched directly or indirectly on that topic.
Twenty-six participants and guests attended the conference. The plenary presentation was "Faith, Hopelessness, and Love: Writings on the Walls in Post Katrina New Orleans" by Katheryn Krotzer Laborde.
The site of the 2007 regional conference has not been determined, but it will likely be a symposium on a special topic, as a practice of alternating between a conference and a symposium was begun in 2004. The 2008 conference will meet at LeTourneau University, under the direction of Martin Batts, the current South-Central regional director.
Thomas Bonner
Xavier University
Return to the CCL Regional Conferences page
Questions to Tammy Ditmore (tammy.ditmore@pepperdine.edu)